Tuesday, October 28, 2008

February 2008 discussion


Our next book discussion will be on February 25th at 6:00pm. We are discussing Tom Perotta's book, The Abstinence Teacher. Tom was an Oscar- nominee in the "Writing - Adapted Screenplay" category for his adaptation of his novel Little Children.
The Abstinence Teacher is about a teacher who questions her school when they try to get her to teach abstinence only sex education. Come to the Scott County Library in Eldridge to pick up your copy and join us on the 25th for a lively discussion!

Listen to an excerpt from the book. Gabcast! Reading 2.0 #3 - Abstinence Teacher

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Discussion on February 25th at 6pm






Summary from Tom's site-

Stonewood Heights is the perfect place to raise kids. It's got the proverbial good schools, solid values and a healthy real estate market. It's the kind of place where parents are involved in their children's lives, where no opportunity for enrichment goes unexplored.

Ruth Ramsey is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school. She believes that "pleasure is good, shame is bad, and knowledge is power." Ruth's younger daughter's soccer coach is Tim Mason, a former stoner and rocker whose response to hitting rock bottom was to reach out and be saved. Tim belongs to The Tabernacle, an evangelical Christian church that doesn't approve of Ruth's style of teaching. And Ruth in turn doesn't applaud The Tabernacle's mission to take its message outside its doors.

Adversaries in a small-town culture war, Ruth and Tim instinctively mistrust each other. But when a controversy on the soccer field pushes the two of them to actually talk to each other, they are forced to take each other at something other than face value.

The Abstinence Teacher exposes the powerful emotions that run beneath the surface of modern American family life and explores the complex spiritual and sexual lives of ordinary people.


Click here for Tom Perotta's website!

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